


Fireflies

by Niko_Niko_Neek



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Gen, Team 8 Shenanigans, some blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:42:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21893842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niko_Niko_Neek/pseuds/Niko_Niko_Neek
Summary: Wherin a Mission doesn't go very well for Kiba. Until it does.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Inuzuka Kiba
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	Fireflies

There was something forboding about the cave in a way Kiba couldn’t really describe.

On the outside, it appeared rather unremarkable, a deep chasm in the Earth that faintly resembled a yawning mouth. The scent of dampness and cold wafted out, punctuated by rat droppings which made his sensitive nose wrinkle. Beside him, Akumaru was intently sniffing, but there was nothing too unremarkable about the place.

...Other than the fact that it had apparently swallowed up four Leaf Genin already.

When something along those lines happened-when Hidden Leaf citizens were speculated to be in some kind of danger or peril-the village didn’t waste time. They sent the best of the best that were on hand, which explained Team Eights’ current presence just outside of the cave, not far from the Village Hidden By Rain. Thankfully, they were far enough away from the border at present that no rain had fallen to wash away any of the scents which lingered behind-however, the rainclouds overhead appeared dark and threatening.

“You’re sure this is where it ends, Kiba?” Hinata’s voice is it’s signature quiet timbre as Kiba takes a step closer to the cave, breathing in deeply.

“....Yeah. Akumaru thinks so, too. This has to be the last place those three Genin were.” Kiba takes a step back, examining the entrance. “.....It doesn’t look too threatening,” he offers with a shrug.

Nearby, Shino stands, calm and silent. “These things never do,” the taller ninja replies.

It doesn’t much make Kiba feel better.

“Well,” he says, gathering his nerves. “Let’s light up those torches and head on in. We’re not gonna find them standing out here.”

“No need for torches,” Shina says, and as though on cue, a small cluster of fireflies drift from the collar of his coat, pulsing a gentle yellow light around him. “I’ve been breeding these specially. They’ll give enough light to see by, combined with Hinata’s vision if we need it. This way, we won’t draw too much attention right off the bad in case something is down there.”

It’s a smart plan-Shino is clever. Kiba figures for all the times he isn’t talking, he’s probably thinking deeply about everything.

Hinata smiles and reaches out one hand. A firefly alights on her outstretched fingers, casting a faint yellow glow against her face. “They’re beautiful.”

They aren’t the only beautiful thing there, but Kiba decides not to comment on that. Instead, he enters the cave, alongside Akumaru and the two others. In an instant, he is greeted with the metallic scent of cave-water-there must be some kind of underground spring or river further down. The air is stale and slow to move, though a breeze from the entrance does ruffle his hair a bit. Beyond the scents, however, there is an eerie feeling to the cave that’s difficult for Kiba to explain. Maybe its how abruptly the trail went cold, right at the entrance, as though washed or vanished. Maybe it’s just the eerie shadows being cast by Shino’s bugs, or the fact that he can scent a few different animals down further, though he’s unable to single them out.

He’s not the only one nervous. Shino is difficult to read, as he always is, but Hinata seems a bit apprehensive, pale eyes straining to see beyond the faint light cast by the fireflies. He slows his walk a little so she can catch up.

“Don’t be nervous. We’ve got Akumaru, at least,” he says with a grin. She smiles back, which makes him feel a bit lighter, but her expression returns to pensive soon after.

“It’s not the cave that bothers me, Kiba. It’s why those three went in at all.”

She has a point. A whole team, vanished into thin air with no sign of their instructor despite countless search parties that Kiba’s own sister, Hana, had been a part of. And with missions that shouldn’t have taken them anywhere near this area, and no reason to go into the save at all, they’re at a loss as to what they must have been doing there.

The passageway down continues, and as they continue further and further away from the sun, Akumaru begins to fidget. The large canine is making small, guttural whines deep in his throat, the way he does when especially anxious.

“What is it, pup?” Kiba murmurs, and even Shino reaches over to pet the dog’s head. The question is answered soon, however, because the rush of copper and sweat soon burns Kiba’s nose.

“Mm.” He winces, reaching up to rub his nose. His teammates pause to look at him expectantly, Hinata with some concern.

“There was some kind of fight. Someone was bleeding here. It’s too old to tell for cure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of those three kids.”

Shino’s brow knits a little in the middle. What may have transpired is painfully clear to all three of them. But what’s bothering Kiba is that he can’t make out any new scents-there’s no animal or rouge ninja that might’ve attacked or learned the three down for some nefarious purpose.

They’re perhaps thirty or so kilometers into the cave when they find the river Kiba had scented earlier-and with it are the clothes.

Shino is forced to crack a glowstick once they come to the wider chamber within the cave network, the fireflies being too meager to illuminate the full space. As it is, the glowstick is powerful enough to show them that they are situated on a kind of cliffside, though it’s large enough not to worry about falling. The river has carved into the base rock and flows off the side in a rushing waterfall that disappears into darkness. And, strewn along the river, are the tattered shirts and headbands of their missing Genin.

Hinata’s hand covers her mouth as Kiba kneels beside the fabric, taking one headband in his palm. A clear streak of blood crosses the metal in a rusty spatter.

“Why would their clothes be taken…?” Hinata asks, and Shino answers with an echo of Kiba’s own thoughts.

“It’s not a person. It’s a thing.” Shino takes a breath.

“Something has eaten them.”

Kiba suppresses a shudder. “If that’s true, I would’ve smelled it-droppings or something.”

Shino points to the flowing river. “Not if it knew to wash itself.”

“Wait.” Kiba presses one palm down on the ground, his ears strained.

He more feels than hears the tremors.

“Shit! Shino, come this way!”

He seizes Hinata’s hand without asking and gives a sharp tug to Shino’s coat sleeve. The rumbling becomes more audible now as all three dash to one of the random tunnels which branch off from the wide chamber. Rocks are already beginning to fall when himself and Hinata enter the narrow tunnel, but it’s a second later that a portion of the cavern’s ceiling collapses.

A crushing pain envelops his left arm as the rocks fall, one barely missing his head. It was too quick and he’d been too panicked to react, and in a mere handful of seconds, the exit of the tunnel is blocked.

“Dammit! Shino!?” Hinata rarely swears, but it’s not unheard of depending on the stress of the situation. A few deep coughs are given in reply before he answers.

“I’m safe! I wasn’t hit.” Relief sweeps over Kiba, but it does little for his arm. Thankfully, Hinata and Akumaru are already digging him out.

It’s a bloody mess when he pulls it out. The sleeve of his leather jacket has been torn to tatters, and from the elbow down, a thick coat of blood covers his arm. It feels hot and swollen and he groans weakly at the sight.

“Great. Love that for me,” he mumbles.

“Let me see,” Hinata demands, taking his wrist with a touch so light that it barely seems to be there. “Is it broken? Does this hurt?”

As soon as she tries to bend his elbow, he almost throws up. “Yes. Yes it does.”

Hinata immediately holds it straight again, wincing. “I’m sorry. Goddammit, and of course I’m the worst at medical ninjutsu….” That’s twice now she’s sworn. She really must be stressed.

“Hey, leave that stuff to Sakura. That’s not what we need you for.” he tries to manage a grin, but he’s pale enough that it probably comes across looking like a grimace.

Hinata doesn’t pay much attention. She’s rummaging through her bag in a kind of focused frenzy.

“Is Kiba okay in there?” He can hear a note of concern in Shino’s voice, which is far from monotone at the moment.

“He’s okay, but his arm’s crushed!” Hinata replies, already beginning the process of wrapping his arm up. “Shino, be careful out there!” 

Akumaru is trying to help in his own way by licking at Kiba’s blood, which only makes the stinging feel worse. Still, Kiba raises his functioning hand-which is still shaking-to pet the dog’s head.

With Shino’s glowstick and bugs on the other side, it’s impossible to tell where much of anything is. He can hear Hinata talking herself quietly through the process of wrapping his arm, which she sometimes does when she’s nervous, and her scent along with Akumaru’s gives him a fair guess as to their position. But it doesn’t make him feel better-the creature which ate the three kids could be anywhere.

“How is that? Is that too tight?”

He tries to move his arm, but the shooting pain prevents that. “...Fine. Don’t fuss too much, Hinata. Just try and shift some of these rocks behind me-Akumaru will help you.”

It’s the logical next step, but the rocks are heavy as hell even if he were in a position to help her. The only positive thing that comes of it is that she creates enough of a gap that some of Shino’s fireflies are able to slip through and help their bearings.

The tunnel becomes so narrow further down that they’d have to crawl to get through-which, with how quickly the cave-in had happened, he’s not sure that’s a good idea at all. His arm has already bled enough to soak some of the gauze Hinata wrapped on his arm. Hinata herself is resting one hand on his shoulder, partially for balance as she tries to squint through the tiny gap in the rocks to see Shino.

“Shino?” she calls. “Does there look to be anything useful from your end?”

“I might be able to use some of my insects to move a few things,” comes the measured response. “At least it could give you enough of a start to begin climbing your way back through. The cracks mostly came from that salt pillar-there doesn’t seem to be much damage here, outside of a few smaller tunnels that came down.”

Kiba braces himself. He doesn’t like bugs very much, and absolutely detests when they crawl on him. In order to shift the rocks, there are going to be a lot crawling on him.

Hinata probably guesses this already because she chuckles and squeezes his shoulder. “You’ll be fine. It’ll only be for a few seconds.”

“And I’ll hate every moment of them,” he grumbles. 

“We’re ready, Shino!”

It’s like the worst tickling sensation he’s ever felt in his life, and it takes every ounce of discipline to stay still as an army of black beetles crawl through the small cracks, piling themselves in the wedges so that a few of the rocks are forced to shift to make room. Combined with help from Hinata and Akumau, a sizeable hole is made in the pile, enough to crawl through.

The bugs retreat, but Kiba can still feel one or two crawling around in his hair. “Oh fuck, I think one’s in my ear.”

“Is it? Let me see.” Hinata’s hand rests softly on his jaw, tilting his head away from his shoulder in order to lean in and look. For someone typically so easily flustered about personal space, Kiba thinks, she seems to have no qualms about stuff of this sort, and he for one, isn’t sure how he feels about it. By the time the quick examination is done, though, his face feels hot, and he’s thankful it’s dark. “No, you’re all good.”

“.....Thanks, Hinata.”

It takes some effort and maneuvering-plus his broken arm drags, which is incredibly painful-but the three manage to wind up back in the cavern, though that doesn’t make Kiba feel particularly safe. Shino adjusts his goggles, looking around the cave.

“Whatever the thing is, it’s likely still here. Kiba, I’m sorry, but you’re not in any shape to fight. May I have your permission to take Akamaru to try and track the creature?”

Every instinct in Kiba flares up at the prospect of being separated from his dog, and it’s a testament to how much he trusts Shino when he nods.

Hinata’s hand returns to his good arm. “I’ll stay here with him, in case it shows up.”

“Hang on, Shino might need you-”

Hinata gives him an oddly stern look. “And what do you plan to do if the thing comes over here? Convince it you won’t be that tasty?”

“I’m plenty tasty.”

She rolls her eyes before affirming to Shino. “If you run into something, try to lead it back here. I’ll help you get rid of it.”

Shino nods in understanding before collecting his glowstick and venturing off on one of the many branching paths.

“....He’s totally gonna get lost,” Kiba says once he’s fairly sure Shino is out of earshot.

Hinata shakes her head. “Not with Akamaru. That’s your dog, he’ll find his way back to you.”

She’s right, and Kiba feels a familiar rush of affection for the canine. “So I guess that leaves the two of us to….What, catch up? Pretend my arm isn’t shredded?”

“Your arm will be fine once we get it looked at. Besides, what would you need to get caught up on with me?”

“I dunno. Life. Weather. How’re things with your clan?”

It can be a touchy subject, and certainly for many years it was. However, Hinata merely shrugs at the question.

“They leave me alone, mostly. I’m not going to complain about it.”

Kiba nods, slowly. “Sometimes being left alone is a little better.”

“It is. Particularly now. I’m at the age where Father’s going to start wondering about my eligibility.”

“....Beg pardon?”

“Marriage and that.”

The prospect sounds so absurd that Kiba actually stares for a moment. “You’re, like, nineteen.”

“Doesn’t seem to bother him. That’s often how things are looked at in older clans like mine. If things were different for Sasuke and Naruto's families, they’d be going through similar things.”

The idea is incredibly foreign to Kiba-his sister hadn’t yet married, and he doubted she ever would. His mother’s marriage had fallen apart, too. He guessed looking at it from a perspective of sheer politics, it made some sense.

“Got anyone in mind.”

At that, she chuckles. “I’m only nineteen, Kiba.”

Good. “I’ll tell you what. If you can’t think of anybody by the time you’re old enough, I’ll just marry you and save you the hassle. We can be roomates with marital benefits.”

“Marital-what is _that_ supposed to mean?!”

He grins. “Tax benefits, baby.”

That gets a loud laugh out of her, which he counts as a true victory regardless of how the rest of the mission turns out.

“I’ll keep you in mind, Kiba.”

**Author's Note:**

> I just really fucking love Kiba/Hinata.


End file.
